When mailing a letter or postcard to an inmate, please address your mail as follows:

Inmate's first and last name - inmate # if knownSt. Joseph County Jail650 E. Main St.Centreville, MI 49032

All mail sent to an inmate at the St. Joseph County Jail must include the sender's name and mailing address in the top left corner of the envelope or postcard.

Failure to include your return address will most likely result in your mail NOT being delivered and your letter destroyed.

Main Phone: 269-467-4009

The information below provides complete instructions regarding the St. Joseph County Jail Inmate Mail Policies, Mail Instructions, what type of mail is NOT allowed, Rules for Mailing letters, photos, postcards, emailing an inmate, magazines, newspapers, books and packages to St. Joseph County Jail in Centreville, Michigan.

Follow these instructions exactly to help ensure that your inmate receives his/her mail and not have it thrown away.

The St. Joseph County Jail has a zero-tolerance policy regarding mail violations.

The St. Joseph County Jail allows inmates to receive pre-metered postcards like the type purchased from the post office. They may also allow certain photo postcards as long as they have not been tampered with or contain images that may be considered to be obscene or violent in nature.

Envelopes

The St. Joseph County Jail may also allow regular postcards and envelopes to be mailed to inmates as well, however more and more jails are no longer allowing envelopes due to concern about paper being dipped into liquefied drugs like methamphetamines and cocaine and then mailed into secure facilities.

To confirm that the St. Joseph County Jail still allows letters in envelopes call 269-467-4009 or view the Inmate Mail Instructions by going here.

Newspapers

Local or national newspapers may also be mailed to the inmate as long as they are mailed directly from the newspaper publisher.

Magazines

News, special interest or sports magazines may also be mailed to an inmate as long as they are shipped directly from the publisher. Any magazines that contain profanity, weapons, pornography or other content that is adult in nature will be confiscated by the jail staff and will NOT be delivered to the inmate.

Books

Most jails allow books to be mailed directly to the jail from a reputable source such as amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. You can order them directly from your computer and have them shipped to the inmate at the address above.

Books must NOT contain images or content that are considered excessively violent, pornographic or obscene. Any book that does not meet the St. Joseph County Jail standards will be disposed of.

Hard cover books will not be accepted by the jail due to their potential to be used as a weapon.

To confirm that the St. Joseph County Jail continues to allow books to be mailed by a third party publisher or bookseller, call 269-467-4009.

Care packages

Care packages are pre-chosen items packaged together and sent to the inmate from a third-party vendor. They can include clothing, snacks and seasonal items.

When a jail allows the inmate to receive Care Packages they must come directly from an approved company that specializes in serving the inmates of jails.

Call 269-467-4009 or click here or here to see if the St. Joseph County Jail participates in a Care Package program and if so, how to purchase one.

A growing number of jails now offer email services to inmates and their families. This can save you time by letting you view your email from your Smart Phone, computer or tablet whenever you wish.

In addition, you don't have to deal with envelopes, stamps or the post office.

Inmates like it because the emails typically eliminate delayed mail runs so they can get your correspondence much more quickly and send responses immediately.

Jail staff likes it as it eliminates concerns about contraband entering the facility in envelopes and on paper. It also allows the jail to have an electronic record that can be called upon at any time.

Anything you or your inmate writes in an email service is put through a filter program that looks for certain words related to criminal and/or gang activities.

There have been multiple cases in which emails between inmates and their friends or loved ones has been used as evidence in criminal court cases to convict them or to file new charges.

Call 269-467-4009 or click here to see if email services are being offered at this jail and if so, how to sign up you and your inmate.